Protected by a Contract
by funkymunchkin
Summary: Lily Potter loved her child. If the only way to protect him is to sacrifice her life in an ancient ritual to request aid from higher forces, then so be it. Even if the said force is a vindictive demon. Undergoing revision!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 : A New Beginning

~...~

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.

\- Lao Tzu

~...~

It was curiously black all around. The shadows spilled from every corner and gaped and made up a wide expanse of nullity.

A perfect void.

In the midst of the gloom stood a man, unconcerned of the darkness enveloping him with ghostly arms, leaning slightly into the cold touch like an old lover. He stared into the oblivion thoughtfully, unflinchingly. His eyes could not see a thing but his skin prickled in a way that always preceded his- how shall he call them? Ah, yes- _exploits_.

He could feel the eventuality of another amusing foray into the human world so acutely, he could almost taste it. It rolled on his tongue, syrupy sweet like honey and he let out a low hum at the rich promise of it.

It had been too long.

~…~

It was a distant cry that wretched him from his sleep.

He had been lounging about in his rooms, warm and cozy, and musing about nothing in particular. His mind was too full of thoughts (all of them intelligent and witty), and his mind flitted between subjects, not lingering on any for any length of time. He felt light and unburdened, thus it would logically follow that he was content. But he was not. His well-deserved serenity was hampered by the fact that he was utterly and absolutely bored.

It had been some years since darling Ciel Phantomhive. Of course, the time spent serving him was interesting enough and the small peeks he got of the changed, but still woefully primitive human mentality was always amusing. And oh, the troubles they could cook up with their petty grudges and beliefs… But finally Angela and Ashe had been defeated, young Ciel had reconciled with his father's death and his soul had been harvested.

End of story.

Thus he was back in the Underworld, bored out of his skull and lamenting the loss of entertainment. With nothing better to do with himself, he was reduced to picking on an imaginary lint on his sleve, letting his thoughts drift from firm grasp. Presumably, at some point his erratic thoughts had slowed down and the shrieks of agony from fields of punishment had lulled him to deeply peaceful sleep.

And now he was awake. Why was he awake?..Ah, yes- the ungodly shriek that was so unlike the tortured screams he was used to, that it pulled him from the pleasant haze of sleep.

 _Merciful Lucifer, what sort of animal could make such asound_?

It sounded like a mad cat about to be butchered, the cries growing louder and more desperate by each second, until the sound was bouncing off the walls of his cave-room and ringing in his skull. Debating whether to get up our not, if only to find out the source of the horrendous noise, he strained his delicately pointed ears for a long moment, until it finally registered that it was not a cat's cry he was listening to but the thundering wail of a human baby.

Ah, well. Nothing worthy of his attention.

Determined to ignore the racket now that he had solved the mystery, he drew in his leathery wings tighter about himself, snuggling into the warmth when the shriek came louder than before, as if the wretched human spawn was demanding his attention.

The enormous swell of energy that came with it that sent him tumbling off his bed and onto the rocky ground of his cave in an undignified heap.

He hissed under his breath and opened ruby eyes, cursing everything above ground but the sound persisted, now accompanied with bursts of energy, steady and rhythmic like a heartbeat, eddying like turbulent waves. He unsteadily rose to his feet (for the even ground was shaking with induced tremors now) and staggered up to a stone basin, chanting forgotten words under his breath. The water inside rippled once, twice, the reflection of his pinched face wavered and distorted in a flash of colors.

A nursery room came into view, plane and unremarkable with its baby blue walls. A neat summoning circle was drawn on the floor and in the middle of it kneeled a woman with hair the color of flames. Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands were clasped as if she was praying to the holly powers of Heaven, although the sigil at her feet was anything but holly. She was intoning something under her breath and although she was trembling badly her voice was strong and sure. Even as he looked on, the whispers reverberated inside his skull and become louder and clearer, until he knew that the woman was weaving the old forgotten magicks of summoning, beseeching for help and protection, albeit in the wrong place as demons were more suited for destroying than defending.

"… _I pray thee the power to conceive in my mind and to execute that which I desire to do, the end which I would attain by thy help…."_

Absently, the demon noted the source of the annoying wailing; wrapped in a garish maroon blanket, a toddler was screaming his head off, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. He was placed inside the crib in a corner and from between the wooden bars a chubby hand was poking out, reaching towards the chanting woman. Instinctively the mother leaned towards him as if she was going to hug and croon at him, but then she caught herself and righted her spine, picking up the incantation with slightly a falter.

 _"…truest of magicks that livest and reignest forever and ever. I entreat thee to inspire a Guardian to manifest before me…"_

There was a muted thump from below, one that the demon recognized from bloody wars of past as a body hitting the floor. The redhead recognized it too, and her sure voice trembled and concealed a sob. On her finger a lone golden ring glinted in the dyeing sunlight.

 _"…hear my cry. I summon thee from the other side…"_

Now there were footsteps, coming closer, urging her to quicken her pace. Her hurried whispers, were drowned by the toddlers screams, but they were clear as day in the onlookers head.

 _"…come to me and cross the great divide…"_

Dimly, the demon acknowledged, that yes, somehow one of the oldest binding magicks in the universe had chosen him as the one for this task and the redhead's intention was to bind him into a forced contract so that he had no choice but to comply.

 _"…to protect my blood from his pain and strife…"_

The footsteps were close now, ascending the stairs at a leisurely pace, guided by the voice of the little boy. The mother's voice was petering out and there was a desperate pitch to it.

 _"…a task to do and a soul a payment to thee…"_

The demon wondered why was he not intervening- the contract was not yet complete and he could stop it from ever taking place if he were to tug at his magic _just so_ and strike the woman dead where she stood. He need not enter this contract- forced or not, he was still a powerful demon and he could certainly retaliate his say if he so chose.

Maybe it was because he had not had anything remotely of intrest happen to him in years, or the way the redhead's brow furrowed as she started to feel the drain on her magic from the ritual, or the little boy's breath hitching in his throat as the _thud-thud-thud_ of footsteps drew closer, but the demon stood unmoving a second too long-

 _"…This is my will and so it shall be thyne. So mote it be."_

-And it was done. The power that had been building for a while now exploded off her petite form in a great wave that resonated back to him. Her long hair whipped about her face as tendrils of sorcery wound around her like overeager snakes and settled briefly upon her heart before disappearing. The Sigil on the floor started smoking and within a heartbeat it had disappeared as it were never there in the first place.

Weakly, she struggled to stand and stumbled on shaky legs toward the crib, where the toddler sat unmoving and stared at her, mercifully silent, as if he too had understood the significance of what had happened. The mother bent down and gave the child a hug with trembling arms and for a moment looked as if she was going to pick him up but then she swayed slightly on her feet and decided against it. In her arms, the tot gave one last sob that had lodged itself in his throat and fell silent.

Not a moment too soon had she completed the ritual.

The footsteps announced the arrival of the intruder. He strode in, draped in a black robe, looking like a circus monstrosity let loose. His gait was slow and imperious, as if he believed he had already won. His lipless mouth was drawn into a smirk, but his red eyes were guarded and alert. The woman released her boy and slowly turned around and although she was panting from the strain on her magic and soul, her face showed nothing but peace and serenity.

The snake man sneered at her and said something about mercy and commanded the girl to move aside, but she proudly tilted her chin up and planted her legs stronger, standing between the trespasser and her offspring, refusing to even acknowledge the threat verbally. There were no tears and no begging, as she knew that she had sacrificed her soul in the ritual. She was already dead- or would be very soon- and she had ensured with her death that her son would live. She had _won_ and she saw no reason to tarnish her victory with unnecessarily words.

There was nothing but vicious triumph on her face as she peered into enraged red eyes over the green of the Killing curse.

In her last moments Lily Potter was victorious and unyielding.

~…~

Her body hit the ground with a thud.

Even in her death she looked powerful, refusing to crumple like a frail waif, instead lying with her arms spread wide like an eagle about to soar. Her eyes were wide open, trained on the still form of her child, headstrong in her vigil.

She was dead. Her soul had been sacrificed to save another. The Contract was absolute.

The cloaked emissary neatly side-stepped her sprawling body and approached the crib. He scowled down at the toddler, as if it were the reason of all the hardships he had endured throughout his life. Narrow nostrils flared, he spit out something full of venom and low under his breath, that to the demon's ears it sounded as if he were hissing like the snake he vaguely resembled to. But no, soon his brain adjusted to the strangely sibilant way the other spoke and he was able to discern words, then sentences in the disjointed speech.

"..they told me you would be the death of me. You! An insignificant vermin, born of a mudblood and a blood straighter." He raved." Your father fell by my wand, helpless and full of bravado, just like the rest of his pointless life. And your mother? Brightest witch in a decade she was called- and did she do anything for you? No, she even didn't plead for your miserable life"—the demon greatly disagreed; she did do something for her child- she sacrificed her soul to him- but he supposed that the man had no way of knowing that.

"But worry not, poor baby Potter. Soon you will be dead too- killed by the man that orphaned you!" The madman barked a short laugh, equal parts insanity and mirth and raised his wand on the toddler. Deliberately, he aimed it at the child's head and incanted his next- and last- curse.

Green light exploded outward, racing to its target and hit the child with such a force that it toppled backwards. It gave a great tug at the infant's soul (which was how the Killing curse took a life) and just as the soul was about to separate from the body, the magic binding of the Contract snapped in place and tightened their hold upon the demon.

The pressure bore down on the demon in magical waves and forced him to his knees. The chocking hold on his throat tightened and then his own magic, potent and destructive welled up in him and spilled out and away, into the mortal plane, where it swirled and collided with the curse. There was a blinding flash of light as the Killing curse was nullified and the child's soul was pushed back into his body. The remaining energy coalesced in a visible wave of energy backlash and flowed over the snake-man, drowning him in its chaotic currents.

The snake-man's body disintegrated into fine ash and the ashes rose a black specter, shaped vaguely like faces (silently screaming with sweet agony). It did a furious circle in the room, then streaked through the wall and fled into the night. Only then another, much smaller specter emerged from the ashes. It was sluggish and weakened, but it made up for this with its blinding rage.

It screamed and jeered and in one furious leap threw itself against the child, as if to strangle it with transparent limbs but instead of emerging from the other side, it was absorbed into the young one's body, leaving only a lighting shaped scar on the baby as it yelped and started to beat on his head with chubby fists, as if to get rid of the parasite inside of him, waves of his own infantile magic rolling off him until he was too exhausted to do much but to whimper in pain.

~…~

The demon hummed thoughtfully as he looked away from the water basin, absently trailing the shadows on the walls of his cave while his brain worked to connect all the little clues from what he had seen into one logical, if incomplete story.

So.

The humans had possessed magic, so they were wizards. Based on the accent they lived or were originated from England. The snake-man was after the family, so the mother had devised a plan to save her little boy, as it was very probable that she would die, too. The Sigil on the floor was drawn with great precision, but the woman had muttered the contact incantation with slight difficulty that came from doing something new and foreign, so it was a big possibility that the woman had stumbled across the ritual by chance and since the ritual was undoubtedly dark, the devil would wager that nobody else knew about her idea. But that and the precise care that the Sigil was drawn with meant that the woman had some time to prepare, ergo, she had known that their family had been targeted.

And that's when the story got interesting. The man, husband probably, that had stalled his killer long enough for the mother to complete the ritual, but he had fallen quickly. His death was not personal, it was as if the man had stood between the emissary and his true target. But he had also shown that the mother was not the intended victim, as he had asked her to move away from the child and was prepared to spare her life. Thus, the logical conclusion was that the real target was the child. _But, why?_

His eyes trailed back to the water basin, which was not showing that the child had drained his magic trying to unsuccessfully banish the sprite out of his and was now dosing fitfully. Truthfully, he seemed to be nothing special- he wasn't even old enough to accurately predict how powerful would he be when he grew up, so the mere idea of an accomplished dark wizard feeling threatened by this child was ridiculous. So then, why?

Hmm, it was something worth digging into.

The one who called himself Sebastian Michaelis smiled a dangerous smile and dispelled the water with a neat flick of his wrist. With practiced ease the demon slipped into the shadows, traveling between the planes, his destination England, Godrick's Hallow- he had a young charge to take care of, if he was not much mistaken.

~….~

A/N : So, I have decided to rework the entire thing and move on from there as I reread it and thought it didn't flow as smoothly as I hoped it would and was also a bit too short. I just finished my last A-Level exam, so officially my summer vacation has begun and I will generally have more free time. Sooo, that means longer and hopefully more regular updates for you (hurrah!)

As you see I made it like 3.5 times longer. Yes, the first segment was Seb in his mindscape which is where demons go when they sleep, bc I have a belief that demons can't see dreams. Just to make it clear, this is after season 1 of Kuroshitsuji (I'm in denial that other season exists, cuz the ending of the first one was too perfect). So, pretend that Ciel's soul was eaten and he really died, i.e he did not reincarnate as demon, and no, he won't make an appearance. For that matter very few Kuro. Characters will- only those that I love too much and can't resist.

The summoning ritual is just me Google searching spells and piecing together few parts that I like, and making up few others. So, I also put more about Lily than originaly and I changed how she died, because God, I hated her baing weak and begging to Voldy in her last moments. The two spirits that rose from Vody's ashes were his splingtered soul, one got away (so that one doesn't know about the second one) and the second one made Harry a horcrux.

The Avada K. bit is how I think it works. It doesn't touch the body, just jerks the soul away and separates the two, at least that my theory. The scar appeared after Harry was made into horcrux, as the A.K doesn't leave any physical trace.

Also, when I started the rework the story stood at 11 chapters, the last being the on where the order decides to place spells on the Dursley home. There was a timeskip somewhere in the middle, which was just Harry's toddler years, but I've decided that it was too abrupt so I will also write a couple of (filler) chapters to just show Harry growing up with Seb and their bond, so be on the lookout for that.

Edit: 16/6/16

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of this story, except the plot and any o.c I choose to add (which will probably be minimal). Kuroshitsuji and Harry Potter belong to their rightful owners, and this is true for any further installation of this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to all the positive feedback I've found some inspiration to continue the series (I was thinking about just making it a one-shot). Honestly... Means so much X3

I just hope that I live up to the hype.

XOXO

He was greeted by a scene from a soap opera.

There was a dishelved man throwing a temper tantrum in the house. His flyaway hair was long and tangled, his eyes wild and restless. His cries werealternating between calling out "James, I'm sorry" and long pityful wails. It took numerous broken chairs and a radio set for the man to marginally calm down and find the reason for his anger.

"Wormtail, you ungrateful bastard, sold us to the Dark Lord, you did." He gritted out and vehemently swore to avenge his fallen friend. With renewed spite, he threw a glass vase at the wall for a good measure and doubled over,shrinking and changing until he was a monstrous black dog. The dog sniffed the ground and with a hunting bay tore off the house, in pursuit of something.

Fixated on his grief as he was, the unbalanced man failed to notice the quiet toddler, who was so obviously in pain, and the lifeless woman on the floor. _Just as well_ , the hidden spectator thought and stepped out of the shadows he was hiding in. He approached and knelt before the woman and looked into her soulless eyes. She had the intense green eyes. _Correction_ \- eye. The right one was the purple colour of his demonic aura, the same one he had gifted Ciel with years ago. The same one that proclaimed her as his contractor.

He extended a clawed hand to close her eyes and took a moment to observe the runic circle that was slowly forming on his hand. The one that marked him as taken for the foreseeable future, in favour of his mistress. The minor fact that she was dead was apparently not enough to cut the connection as his task was still unfulfilled. _Speaking of which..._

The whelp was still curled up in his cot, wrapped like a parcel in his blanket. Green eyes pleadingly looked at him from within the protective cocoon. The man gingerly wiped the infant's black hair from his sweaty brow and put him to sleep with a murmured incantation. Maybe some sleep would sooth him. _Alas!_

He frowned- the boy's eyes were closed now and his breath even, but the look of utter misery was still etched on his face. Laying his cool hands on the child's brow, he realised the nature of the problem- the spectre of the snake-man. He could feel it's deliciously dark magic fighting to take control of the child's body (whose raw magic was keeping it at bay at the moment, but was too erratic and unrefined to fully depend on). He sighed; it was truly a shame to stump out such evil potential,but a contract with a demon -even a forced one- was absolute.

With a burst of power, the spectre was defeated and contained in a barrier, and buried to the deepest corner of the boy's mind.

Just in time to hide in the shadows and watch a hook-nosed man rush into the room (troding on the husband's corpse) and throw himself on the ground, near the sprawled female form. Great, heaving sobs racked the greasy-haired youth as he gathered her into his arms and started rocking, ignoring the infant, the demon, the husband's body and the long bearded elder who came in after him.

 _And the soap opera continues_ , Sebastian thought idly, watching the elder watch the sleeping infant with a calculating look in his twinkling blue eyes, while the other man wept in the background.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Not too long after the two men left, the young one was snatched up by a giant of a man with wild beard and tangled hair. The man was so very gentle with the child that Sebastian didn't deem it necessary to blow his cover when the child was not in grave danger. He had followed after the strange flying contraption (that somehow braced the man's weight) on silent wings, the inky darkness around him his only cover.

And that was how he ended up in Surrey, Little Whinging, on a street full of identicaly _horrendous_ -and identical in every aspect, if he was feeling up to being honest- houses, the only distinguishing mark a copper 4 on the door, in front of which the child was left like a bottle of milk.

He observed the ongoings from the shadows and decided he did not like how the elderly old man seemed in charge of everything. And why was he in charge of the child placement, with not even as much as an argument? The people around him were also oddly expectant of him to ,ah, direct their actions.

No, Sebastian did not like the meddling old man _at all_. He resolved to do some research to maybe unearth some dirt on him and figure out what his angle was. In fact, he thought, bending down to read the note left by said meddler, he would being his investigation right now.

He read the note and promptly burned it. Aside from enlightening him on the relation between the child ( _Harry_ , he reminded himself) and the residents of this house, the note was utterly useless. He briefly considered writing a note himself, but quickly disposed the idea; that would mean Harry had to sit outside for the whole of the night and if one thing was worse than having to protect a toddler, it was having to nurse a _sick_ toddler. Honestly, demons aren't made for this sort of nurturing actions, so while he _could_ do it, he preferred not to have to do it.

Besides, with him being the child's guardian, he was bound to visit the child every now and then. And lowering himself to do it behind the humans' back as if he feared them simply did not fit with his image. Might as well introduce himself early.

So he donned his human guise, took the sleeping toddler in his arms and knocked three times precisely. He also was not above utilising the ringing bell in the middle of the night if those humans did not open the door in exactly five minutes.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

As it turned out Sebastian not only had to press the bell, but had to actually _lean_ on it for the blasted humans to wake up and to understand that he was decidedly not going to move until they opened the door. Of course, he was fully capable of blasting said door apart, but no use alienating what could be allies (aside from the rude wakeup, but that was necessary).

When the door finally opened to reveal a purple-faced round man in flannel pajamas, Sebastian decided that _nope, no potential allies here._

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RUDDY NIGHT?!" He bellowed, spitlle flying from his mouth.

"Shall we take this inside, gentleman?" Sebastian asked calmy, and added a well-timed " The neighbours are watching" when the man opened his mouth. True to word, between his dedicated ringing and the man's yelling, it seemed that a good portion of the neighbourhood was awake and looking at the proceedings from their open windows.

The walrus lookalike looked ready to explode but Sebastian was already inside the house, trying to stop a bewildered Harry from crying. It seemed there was another child in the house, and the tiny sniffles coming from Harry were nothing compared to the thundering wails from above. There was also a sound of a rather tonedeaf woman attempting a lullabye, but it could've just as well been a dyeing vulture, so he wasn't too sure.

He had to ignore the scathing looks and remarks from the walrus man and contend himself with looking around the uninspiring living room for quite some time until the horrendous noise ceased. By that time little Harry was well asleep, awefully content in one demon's arms.

Finally, the person he was waiting for descended the stairs to identify the reason of the commotion. She was nothing like her sister ( _who_ , he would openly admit, _was beautiful for a human female_ ). Petunia Dursley was gravely thin, had a long neck and overall unpleasant visage.

 _Non the less, a nice chat with her was in order._

Preferably one that left her scared for a long time.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

A/N So, I actually expected this fanfic to be lost and buried, but lo and behold some people are actually taking their time reading it. And what's more is that they seem to like it!

So thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the wonderful people who've read, reviewed or favourited/followed this story. A special thank you to KUMA-fury 19, who said that (s)he considered the fanfic -dare I say it?- different, while I was sure that it would be nothing special.

Also there were a couple of questions/suggestions I feel I should answer to ALSO A VERY IMPORTANT PLOT POINT THAT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED, SO EVEN IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT AN PLEASE READ MY RESPONSE BELLE HAWK, AS IT WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE STORY.

Belle hawk: In canon it was the loving sacrifice that Lily made that had put up the Blood Wards and the reason Harry had to be placed with his relatives (as they shared Lily's blood and would keep up the wards). You and I however both know that in this AU story, Harry is saved because of Sebastian's magic acting out to protect him , as according to the forced contract. I guess what I'm trying to say is, this time around, its Sebastian who has to put up protective wards, so of course he is going to have free access to the house. Though Fumbles still thinks that Lily invoked the Blood wards, thus Harry's placement with Dursley's.

Paxloria: OK, so. I think we can reach a compromise. Sebastian did arrive early than Severus and Albums, but he had to actually see Sirius because this will help in the long run of clearing up his name. The second suggestion is actually what I'm thinking about doing, but with my own twist to it. I will say no more on the matter, but know that the price of Voldie is contained for now and won't be triggered until much later. On an unrelated note thank you for the correction, I will change it asap.

Mistress Steff: your review was really nice, thanks. Also thanks for pointing out that little detail, I'm a bit scatterbrained sometimes. I will change it.

So, uh that's it for now. I honestly don't know when I will update but I will try to get another chapter in before next Thursday, I guess. Bye3


	3. Chapter 3

Petunia Dursley was enraged.

How _dare_ they barge into her house and demand she take care of the devil-child? Especially when that would mean her poor Dudders would be exposed to their utter _freakishness_? How they even came up with the idea that they would take the child in was well beyond her. After all, she had severed all the ties between her and her upstart sister.

So _how come_ they just thought they could waltz into her house and tarnish her normal life by heaping the burden of an orphaned child upon her? Surely, they must've known that she had no love for their kind. _Surely_ , there were more people willing to take the child in, if Lily was as respected in the wizarding world as she had claimed to be. The child was not wanted and at best would be ignored. _He would not be happy with them nor them with him._

She said all this to man in the black suit and more. She protested shrilly and Vernon bellowed and threatened, _but of course, who cared what the normal folk like them thought_. The man had just sat down, calmly sipping his wine (that he made appear out of thin air, for they would offer no hospitality to him), and when they had no choice but to quiet down lest they shred their vocal cords, he had the _gall_ to ask if they were quite finished yet.

And he had explained what he _expected_ of them, how the child would be taken care of and that he was sure good people like them would not scorn a poor defenceless child. The child would be well-fed and well-clothed, raised to be mannered and encouraged to learn. Under no circumstances was he to be ignored and abused in any way.

And he told them in the same silky voice the circumstances of the whelp's parents' death and why they were killed. He wove a tale of good and evil and little brave family caught in between. It was as if they were hypnotised by his voice, neither Petunia nor Vernon could find it in them to interrupt the strangely _compelling_ voice of the newcomer, and found themselves unable to speak until the man had finished, wrapping his little speech with a polite "Any questions?"

Petunia would never forget the man's sinister smile as he answered Vernon's indigent inquiry about _why, pray tell_ , were they expected to go along with this outlandish scenario. " _Because_ ," he'd said, handing of the unnaturally still toddler to her, "You'll find that I am _most_ dangerous when upset" and departed just as Dudley burst into loud cries upstairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

 _But of course,_ they wouldn't follow _their_ instructions like spineless sheep _._

At least that was what Vernon said, when he took the (now awake) boy from him – holding him as far as possible from his person- and shoved him into the cupboard under the stairs. In other circumstances, Petunia would have heartily agreed, but now she couldn't deny the shivers that were erupting on her skin at the mere memory of the imposing man. He didn't give them his name, or _any_ information regarding who he was, and had been perfectly civil, but something about him was terribly… _off_. It was as if the sixth sense she never knew she possessed was going haywire and telling her that the man was dangerous beyond belief, telling her to run and not look back.

So it was with trembling hands that she fed Harry in the morning and put him back into his cardboard (Vernon was adamant about only doing the bare minimum work, just enough to keep the brat alive). Later that day, cradling Dudley to her, she understood with cutting clarity that she did _not_ want to know how dangerous could the mysterious man be.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The Dudley household had its first major fight that day. Upon returning home Vernon was confronted with a frantic Petunia. The row ended with Petunia using the 'do it for our son, if not for me' card and little Harry begrudgingly was given his own bedroom.

 _Good thing too_ , as it was the next day that the mysterious man chose to visit again.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

A/N: Huh, I actually made the deadline. Didn't expect that to be honest. I've got lots of stuff going on and in 2 days I will have my IGSCE results, so everything is hectic. Still, with all the positive feedback it's worth sitting down and typing up some stuff for you guyz. Again, thanks to all of you for following/favouriting and reviewing. Now to answer some questions:

Lady Lachrymose: Glad that you enjoy the story. And thanks for the tips, althou I think it's more of a question of a personal preference. I like to just relax and let the story come naturally (I always fudge it up if I try to force it). But again, thanks for the tips. I will try them sometime.

2LazytoLogin: Thanks for the review. So... I find your question actually really good. Someone asked that Seb eating Voldy thing on the last chapter, but I replied that I have plans for that. So yes, I am going to use that idea with my own spin, but it won't come into play until later. Also, why exactly was Voldemort allowed to remain in Harry's head was that Sebastian realised that the wraith is going to give Harry extra power and abilities (e.g parseltongue) and plans to use that to his advantage. I will fully explain this point in some two chapters ( I have a vague outline in my head), but for now just know that the piece of Voldie is in comatose state.

Reflectedmisery: Glad you decided to give my fic a shot. I don't necessarily agree with you about the chapter length point ( I've read some really good drabbles), but hey, who am I to judge: I have those quirks too (I usually read completed stories because am too impatient to wait for updates XD). Ok, on to your question(s). So, Sebastian's visit scedual is going to be a tad erratic as he has a lot of things to do in human world (e.g studying up on the wizarding world, spying on Dumbles, ect, ect), but yes, once he gets hang of it he is going to permanently whisk Harry away. Which will happen pretty soon, before Harry even starts Hogwarts, so we can have some smart! and independent! Harry. And, yes, I do believe that Seb will be grossed out about human babies XD

Ok, so that's it for now. Don't forget to review. And PREY that my IGCSE's are ok, because my mom is going to kill me if it's not. And I can't write if I'm dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Sebastian Michaelis exited the house, a heavy frown set on his face.

He had just met the Dursleys and handed off the child to them, but they didn't really strike him as the nurturing sort of people. Yes, threats aside, he _was_ going to have to keep an eye on them. Granted, he didn't want to leave his young charge with these horrendous specimens, but before taking a drastic measure such as kidnapping the child, he would like to be informed on several things…

Like who were those men that just barged into the house and did whatever they pleased? _Specifically_ , who was the old one, with the long white beard and blue eyes? Where did the other half of the wraith go? Why was the child left on the doorstep of these boorish people? Why, why _, why_..?

His lips thinned.

Just spiriting the child away without so much as a by-your-leave, while he had no ready arrangements and little knowledge of what he was dealing with, was not only borderline brash, but would put his ward under danger. There was no way of knowing what would happen if he were to act this instant- a truth which put a bitter taste in his mouth- and he didn't want to risk it with humans capable of magic. Oh, of course he knew about the twig-waving fools, but it had been a long time since he came into his contact with them ( a lot longer than he was willing to admit) and he did not know what the modern ones were capable of.

That didn't mean he was going to _abandon_ the child, he thought grimly before coming to a conclusion. He would leave the boy with the Dursleys, but would visit regularly, so the boy knew and trusted him (and to frighten the little humans). Meanwhile, he would study up on the current wizarding and non-wizarding human world. He would plan and plot, so when the time was right, the boy would prevail and he would finally get hold of Lily Potter's soul. ( It concerned him little that she was currently missing: souls were awarded after his job was done and the binding contract magic would force her spirit out of whatever hole she was hiding in, just as it was forcing him to protect the boy.)

Lips curved upwards in a pleasant arch.

 _Yes_ , he would leave the boy with his relatives and study. _For now_. And once the boy was old enough not to need constant care, the demon would whisk him away and train him to become the best wizard mankind has ever seen since Merlin himself.

Pleased with himself, the man turned and disappeared into shadows.

He had a lot to investigate.

XOXOXXOOXOXOXOXXOXO

Sebastian stepped out of the shadows and surveyed the room before him. It was exactly as he left it, when he made to follow the half-giant before he whisked Harry away.

 _Good, he would loot the place himself._

Deliberately, he stepped around the dead bodies of Lily and James (who were now covered with white bed sheets) and approached the discarded robes of the fallen dark lord. They were mere black robes, of expensive material, but on the conservative side. And they were completely unremarkable.

Sebastian heaved a sigh of disappointment; He had expected more from a human who thought himself god amongst men. Now, nothing remained of him that could tell about his supposed greatness.

 _Except a flyaway portion of his soul, apparently._

That was another thing that was bothering Sebastian. He had contained and locked away the portion of the soul in Harry, but his experience with souls had revealed that that particular one was split more times than it was advisable. At any rate, the soul was so tattered and diminished that he could not track it and if his suspicions were true, Harry was the only one that could do so now.

That was one reason he had not banished the soul immediately. Another reason was that he had sensed residue black magic on the child, even after the soul fragment had been laid dormant, and knew at once that the wraith had given Harry additional magical capabilities. What kind, he wasn't sure, but he was not a man who looked the gift horse into the mouth. He planned to use this fully to his advantage. And if he could perhaps leech off some information from the defeated fragment, even better. Harry had to be as strong as he could be for when the snake-faced man came back. At this point it was only a matter of time.

Killing the man would undoubtedly difficult. And destroying the man was vital for Harry's survival- he had, after all, attempted to murder the demon's ward.

 _Too bad he made enemy of the wrong demon_ , Sebastian wryly thought as he shook his head to dispel his chaotic thoughts and started looting the Potter residence.

XOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOX

In the end, he had collected anything valuable or of use.

As per the contract, he had given the child the priority, collecting anything that might help with his upbringing or increase his comfort. The demon had raided the small wardrobe and had packed countless baby clothes and toys into one giant bag. The hygiene products, as well as the diapers and feeding bottles had been put into a different bag.

That done, he had turned his attention to more interesting things. He had pocketed the wands of the fallen couple, as well as the dark lord's and proceeded to sweep the entire house clean of anything of interest. A bunch of keys from the pocket of James. An ancient jar bearing a large wad of muggle money. Jewellery from the vanity mirror in the master bedroom. Various potions from a potions lab downstairs. An adult-sized broom and a toy broom. What looked to be a hand-written diary of Lily Potter.

He left nothing behind. All were shrunken and placed in his pocket. It had occurred to him that he was being much too obvious, but he waved it away. They had no way of tracing it back to him, after all. It certainly helped that he was a creature of somewhat questionable morals and felt no guild at stealing from dead people ( _what use could the dead possibly have for them in afterlife?)._ So he took whatever he fancied.

The find of the day, however, was an iridescent, shimmering cloak. It was stashed away in James' wardrobe, under a score of neatly folded trousers and Sebastian had stumbled upon it by pure luck. Oh, the cloak was powerful, but in a subtle way. He could tell at once that its purpose was to shield things from sight and that slippery, hidden magic had almost caused him to dismiss it. Thank Hades he had stopped to investigate.

The fact that he got to watch from the shadows as the bumbling elder with the twinkling eyes barge in and attempt his own raid (just minutes after Sebastian had finished his) in vain hopes of finding the cloak was a welcome bonus.

XOXOXXOXOXOXOXXOXO

A/N SO.. its finally up. This first few days of school were a complete butchery after my chill program of summer (wake up, derp around in ff, eat, sleep, repeat), so I was so tried that I just couldn't concentrate on this. But I finally did it. This chapter was a sort of a fill-in, so not a lot happened, but it was essential to map out the background and answer a few questions the readers who were distressed(?) about Voldie not being eaten had. Don't worry; I've got this planned out.

AS levels are so difficult from the IGSCE that I just can't. I reckon the free periods are the only benefits from this thing. Mom keeps insisting that it will be worth it, but I have my doubts. For those who are curious, yes, my IGSCE results were good. I got A* in English lang., bio and chem, A in physics, literature, maths and my additional Russian that I took, and a B in history. Parents were ecstatic and bought me a new bike, which in turn made me very happy, too.

Now, on to some Q&A!

Paxloria: Hope this answers why Seb isn't so worried about where Lily's soul is. Unfortunately, I can't reveal it now, because it is an important plot point, but feel free to theorise. BTW, thank you for the corrections. Sometimes I type too fast and the writing gets out of hand.

KioshiUshiyama: Yes! An intelligent! And Grey! Harry is exactly what I'm going for. Thanks for cheering me on.

Evalon Knights: Unfortunately, right now I have a somewhat busy/hectic schedule and still need to fully come in terms with school hours XD. So, in all honesty I can't give you guys an update day, because I know that I will probably miss the deadline. But I'm doing my best, so bear with me

Elfin69: I hope this chapter answered your questions. And thank you for putting them forward: questions are appreciated!

I think that's it for now. Thanks to all the others who reviewed, favourite/followed and read. I love you guyz 3


	5. Chapter 5

Sebastian was once again standing on the front porch of Privet Drive, n.4.

It was not a day after he left Harry with the Dursleys. He thought that maybe he was being too mistrusting (as all demons were), but he trusted his instincts well enough to know that the family, for all their false illusions of being hospitable, were a dodgy lot. Someone needed to keep an eye on them;

That _someone_ being one surly demon.

He tried to console himself with the feast that would await him after the completion of the contract (after all, the ancient binding magic was absolute and Lily Potter _would_ be forced out eventually from whatever hole she was hiding in).

Nodding to himself, he raised his fist and knocked precisely three times on the door. Unlike the last time, the door swung open almost immediately to admit him in, which he did without glancing at the horse-faced housewife, but allowing himself a curt "Good evening, Madam." From the doorway he could see the fat lump of man lying on the couch and watching TV, doing equal measures of listening and arguing with the views expressed on the program. The demon ignored him – he was certainly not here for Vernon.

Sebastian followed the unique aura of Harry, which his own dark magic had marked as his charge. It was like a shimmering cord of magic, barely visible if he was not actively concentrating on it. Made of intertwined strands of his dark violet aura, Harry's pale green- which would darken over time as the boy grew and strengthened his magic. There was also an additional third aura – diminished and barely there- but vaguely discernable flashes of an orange-red. He guessed it was Lily's aura, from the way it gently surrounded and 'nudged' the soft green hue.

The aura trail led him straight to the second floor, to the far right door, into a miserable, small room. He took in the grey walls, creaky floor, the amount of dust and smack in the middle of the room was baby Harry, fast asleep in a rickety cot. The demon frowned heavily and as if summoned by his displeasure, Petunia Dursley appeared at the door.

"Tell me" Sebastian began with misleading calm "Why is Harry sleeping in an old cot half his size, in the middle of an unclean dingy room?" The woman cleared her throat under her breath ( the demon heard it non-the-less) and launched into an obviously rehearsed excuse.

"Well, sir, you had given us no warning before you dropped Harry here. You see, we simply did not have enough time to prepare a decent room for the boy"

" _The cot_?" Sebastian prompted.

"Dudley's. My boy has outgrown it quite a time ago." Her proud tone faltered when the man turned to face her and she realised that his eyes were not velvety-brown as her sleep-deprived brain had assumed it to be last night, but a dark red, as if the whole blood in the universe was condensed into two bright spheres. The intensity of those eyes made her uncomfortable and fidgety, but she tried her best to seem unshaken. Then, the man spoke.

" Ah, yes. Your son. Quite proud of him I see. Well, better make sure he is safe _at all times._ " He drawled neutrally. Trying to quell her sense of dread, Petunia opened her mouth to demand what he meant, when the sudden panicked cries of Dudley rose in the next room.

Heart in her throat, she ran out of the small room and opened the door of Dudley's room. Immediately, she was accosted by a powerful blast of heat and smoke, making her cough and flinch away. The entire room was engulfed in fire, red pillars rising to lick the ceiling. She heard Vernon's surprised gasp behind her, toying with her thin strands of hair, but the entire world had dimmed. There was only her and her son, in a room about to collapse and turn to ashes.

Mother's instincts rose with vengeance and Petunia threw herself into the room, unheeding of the fire lapping at her heels. The five steps to Dudley's cot seemed like a marathon and she sobbed with relief when she was her screaming, flailing, _alive_ son through blurry eyes. She extended her hands…

The minute Dudley was in her arms, the flames disappeared and the room was as she had left it an hour ago. The curtains were whole, the wallpaper intact, the air fresh. Yet, there was a scorch-mark in the shape of a skull on the door, which stood black against pale brown- a proof that the flames had not been a mirage of her own deranged mind.

Shaking, Petunia clutched Dudley to her chest and sank to the floor, rocking herself and absently humming a lullaby to calm her wailing son. She saw Vernon shake his head and, eyes wide, stumble into the room to huddle with her and silently stare at the wall.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Half an hour later, somewhat composed, the spouses dragged themselves up from the floor and returned to the smallest bedroom to see the man playing with the now awake boy. He kept waving his hands as small slivers of fire danced around his slim, gloved fingers and Harry seemed absolutely captivated.

Both refused to acknowledge their presence and only after several minutes did the man let the small sparks die out, giving his hand to the toddler, who seemed content enough to turn it around, poking and inspecting it with a look of awe on his face. The man took a sip of a wine from a delicate glass pitcher that appeared from the air and slowly turned his head to observe the room. Dursley copied his movements.

There were toys scattered around the floor. A bag of what seemed like baby clothes and hygiene products was leaning against the wall. The old cot was gone; instead there was a new, maple one with an insect net and a white curtain around it. The room seemed much more spacious than it ever was, a previously small window opening like a gaping mouth to watch the garden. In a word – the small room was no longer… well, _small_ and miserable.

"I think that some renovations are in order." Said the man suddenly, slowly turning around." The walls need to be painted. How about a nice shade of green? It does suit Harry – and curtains. We definitely need curtains. A fluffy rug would be good as well, don't you think?" The man was starring Vernon in the eye now and although Petunia could see her husband's stubborn nature initiating an internal conflict, he obediently nodded his head and forced a "Yes" through clenched teeth.

"Good. Also, there seems to be some dodgy rumours about Harry's parent's demise…?"

"Misunderstanding, I'm sure" Petunia found herself saying, immensely proud of herself for not letting her voice crack.

"I'm sure" The man echoed and made a move to stand up. Unfortunately for him, Harry had other ideas and tugged on his hand, demanding with his eyes that the demon do more tricks.

With a long suffering sigh, Sebastian picked the toddler up and placed him in his cot (salvaged from the Potter home). When the boy seemed ready to protest, he snapped his fingers and in a flash, a human skull appeared. Whispering a spell into where the long-dead man's (or perhaps woman's) ears would be, the man watched as the hollow eyes glowed purple and the skull rose from his hand to float of its own accord, just above the toddlers waving hands.

"I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of making an interactive toy. It will also monitor Harry's condition and notify me if something is amiss." His tone was civil enough, but the Dursleys still heard the unsaid threat.

Satisfied with a day's work, Sebastian made for the door, let himself out and dissolved into the shadows.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Later that day, Petunia discovered while cleaning Harry's room, that the glass cup the man drank from did not contain wine at all.

She watched as the blood swished about the cup in hazy red circles, and tried not to be sick.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

A certain demon was pleased to note during his next visit that the neighbourhood was abuzz with the tragic tale of the Potters, a pair of law enforcers, who died while opposing a terrorist organization. Little Harry was the sole tragic survivor of the encounter.

 _Or so he was told…_

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

A/N Sorry for the wait. Here it is! Ok, first of I really thought that Vernon will need a more permanent shock to defy their barbaric ways. Also, despite their bullshit, I really believe that Petunia and Vernon love Dudley and wanted to show it in this fic. So two birds with one stone.

About that following the aura thing: I always thought it strange that Sebastian could find Ciel when he was kidnapped, etc. So I thought it would make sense if his magic would somehow 'claim' Ciel, so no other demons challenged his dibs on the boys soul + to find him wherever.

Excuse my not answering the questions in the fisrt day, but here they are (I updated this part)

animeromance1972: As said in the previous chapter, Seb is planning to take Harry away when he's old enough not to need constant attention and be trained. I'm guessing somewhere near 5-6 y/o, but that might change. In canon, James was tall, so I think Harry's shortness is not genetic. Since there will be no abuse in this fic, then yes, Harry will grow up to be tall - not overly, just average height.

mumia0813: I think so. Because if you think about it, the cloak was a Potter/Peverel family heirloom, so it had no business with being in Dumbledore's possession. You could argue that he had it for safekeeping, but Gringotts would do well for that as well, so I'm just going to go with my theory that he took it because he knew it was a hollow, but couldn't keep it forever, since it rightfully belonged to Harry.

Paxloria: I think that with Voldie 'gone' people had more immediate concerns that burying James and Lily. I don't think it would be a big deal in a war-ridden world, besides, they can easily place stasis charms on the corpses so they don't rot, too... But the were covered with white sheets, so that's good.

KioshiUshima: Thank you for the comment about grades ^-^ And yeah, I really don't think Sebby is the right person to raise a toddler. He would probably raise a homicidal maniac, a polite one tho XD

Dream bound nightmare: Thank you for the corrections. Right now I'm focusing more on the plot, but I will come back to edit the story after we're ,say, halfway through.

And to the anonymous guest, who said that his was the best HPxBB crossover they read: OMG, thank you. You are so sweet. My mom had to come and keep my squealing down when I read your comment *.*

That's it for now. The next update will probably be during next week, but no promises. The thing with this chapter was that I didn't like the way Seb came through: coz on one hand he's a demon, on the other hand he is only nasty to people that he will kill immediately (aka people who are f*cked) and he needs the Dursley alive to raise Harry. I really didn't want to make him too OOC, so I was stressing about it and at first got a huge authors block and then rewritted it several times. But now that I'm past it, I think ideas will come to me easier.

MEANWHILE: keep your eyes open for my new HP fanfic (probably a two-shot). It will be a darker-ish rendition of the events of GoF with a competitor that is not Cedric Diggory ( I like him, but I think he is getting too mainstream nowadays. Besides he is alive and kicking in Twilight, so why angst over him too much?^.o).


	6. Chapter 6

Now that the Dursleys were sufficiently taken care of and Harry's well-being was assured, Sebastian had some time to himself.

Never the one to succumb to sloth, Sebastian decided to use his time wisely. He made a mental list of what he had to do in the immediate future (which, with his long lifespan meant the next decade or so).

His main job, of course was to protect Harry, but that wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. Sebastian had no idea what or who he was up against, the current wizarding society and its beliefs. He had no set place to house Harry after his stay at the Dursleys and no accommodates to train the boy. He had a lot to investigate.

 _Well, no better time than now._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Sebastian had no idea where to go.

So he did the sensible thing and let the crowd guide him. And the crowd did not disappoint.

He was looking for a magical community, but unsure of possible reception, had abstained from using his demonic powers. Instead, he had shadow-travelled to muggle London and from then had wondered around – with poise, of course- until he found a crowd of people with magical auras. Of course, aura reading was not needed, as the wizards and witches were obnoxiously loud and obvious, walking around clad in robes and pointy hats, despite their existence being a 'secret' (which he knew, as he didn't see many magical during his servitude to Ciel).

 _Ah, well, better for him,_ thought the demon as he followed quite a distance away from the gossiping persons, but his acute hearing still picked up every word said.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The crowd had already moved away, but Sebastian had elected to stay put and think things through.

He didn't think that saving the boy would have such a big impact on the magical community as a whole. He barely kept the snarl of his face; the damned boy was famous, which was as good as saying that he had many enemies and just as many well-wishers to deal with, not to mention how publicity may draw attention to boy's were-abouts.

 _Well, then._

Sebastian noted the barrier that separated the muggle and magical world (he could sense it now that he got close to it), committed the _Leaky Cauldron_ to memory and decided to retire for the time- being to the one place he could think and rest uninterrupted.

He dissolved into the shadows and sank down, down, down, deep into the bowels of Earth.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It had been a day. Or two. Or three. Or maybe just an hour?

The sense of time in the Underworld was wonky that way. That was the main reason why demon with contracts seldom visited their homeland until the Deal was completed. But Harry was still a baby and Sebastian figured that it was acceptable as long as he didn't fall into deep sleep and hibernate like a bear (last time that had happened he was asleep for the crux of the industrialisation era and felt quite bewildered when he descended into the human realm once more.)

Besides, he had left the skull with Harry, so at the very least, he would be notified if something was amiss. And _Hades help those idiots_ if he was forced to cut his trip short.

"The Emperor requests an audience with you."

 _Speak of the Devil._

Sebastian begrudgingly stood from his comfortable bed and shooed the minor demon away. He idly wondered what did he do to warrant a summon from Him, but his mind supplied him with nothing, so he splashed a handful of lava on his face, to chase the sleep away and clean his face. Finally deeming himself presentable after straightening his clothes, he decided that he could put this off no longer.

With a sigh, Sebastian made for the exit of his cave-home, the tortured screams from the fields below doing nothing to improve his abysmal mood.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Sebastian tried not to tap his foot as he waited for a minor servant tell the Emperor of his arrival; all for show of course, as all well knew that He was aware of anything happening in the Black Castle, if not the whole Underworld. It did give him some time to sort his thoughts, but did not help much in the anxiety department (not that he would ever confess feeling anxious).

Finally, the huge doors opened a fraction and the thin Paige slipped out with a nasal _"The Emperor will meet you now"._ Sebastian bared his fangs in a show of dominance and the demon quickly scampered away.

"I would prefer if my guests were not to terrorise my servants." A deep voice said from inside the room, but it had an amused tone, so Sebastian didn't think He minded much.

"Of course, forgive my manners." Sebastian said as he slipped inside and closed the doors behind him. Putting a hand on his heart and slipping into a bow as was the custom, the demon waited until the God of Death and Afterlife bid him to stand.

"Stand" was the command and the demon did as he was told. For a long moment He was silent, staring with glassy eyes and Sebastian recognised the expression that signalled the God's communication with the Fates, which usually happened when Hades was asking counsel on whose life to end without disrupting the Balance and the Fates' machinations. _The demon hoped they were not talking about him._

Sebastian took the moment to observe his Liege. Hades preferred his humanoid form and was seldom seen in his gigantic form. He sported black noble's clothes and over his broad shoulders a dark cloak was draped. The cloak seemed to be made out of shadows and was constantly shifting to show faces, thousands of screaming faces, straining to get out and the top of it was lined what many believed to be the hair and beards of His fallen opponents. His symbol – the Helmet of Darkness- was as always on his head and a few strands of curly black hair rebelliously were poking out from under it. The lines on his face were harsh, the cheekbones prominent, but it was the eyes that betrayed the seemingly middle-aged man's decades.

Imperiously sitting on his throne, He made a fearsome image and the demon could not help but bask in the sinful presence of his Lord.

Finally, Hades' bottomless black eyes cleared and he looked at the demon as if just remembering him.

"Do you have _any idea_ with whom you entered a Contact with?" The voice was thunderous and Sebastian fought not to slink away like a scorned child.

"Lily Evans, my Liege."

"She matters not- she was supposed to die anyway." A negligent hand was waved." But with _your_ intervention, the fate of the entire wizarding world has changed and the three hags are on my case with that."

"But the one who calls himself Voldemort is not dead." The demon tried to comprehend what the problem was.

" _Of course he's not."_ Snorted Hades (was that a bitter tone?). "Years ago, he has fractured his soul and hid it in several objects, and Thanatos cannot find him at all." Sebastian nodded; he had guessed much already. That the man hid himself from the oldest son of Hades and the first of all Death Gods was quite an accomplishment. No wonder Hades was furious.

"But the Fates were _gracious_ enough to provide me a way of ending him- through a human child, who was prophesised to defeat the escapee." Sebastian did not like where this was going.

"So you see, your intervention was unnecessary as I would've permitted the boy to live still and has caused a right stir. And now you are a part of some hidden ploy of the Fates, one I'm not privy to and can't stop as your contract has tied my hands _. Do you understand the enormity of the situation?_ " Sebastian relaxed; he knew Hades well enough to know that he was being given a very roundabout 'don't-screw-up' speech.

"I understand and will do everything in my power not to disappoint you." He even added a little bow at the end.

"See that you do." The angry demeanour vanished and the God leaned back leisurely. "So what are you called these days?"

"Sebastian Michaelis at your service, Grandfather." Sebastian replied with a chuckle and started a polite conversation while the God sent for blood and biscuits.

 _He knew Sebastian loved biscuits._

XOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

A/N. Yay I updated! This chapter, Oh Hades, it was a headache! I meant to write Seb following the Weasley's and learning about the order, but the scene wasn't writing itself in a way that was up to my standard, so that event had been delayed. Some might say that Seb is doing too little , but my say is that he just got started on the task and he has years until Harry is old enough to take away, so shush.

Regarding, the last bit. I plan to use the help of some demons later on ( the story is going to deviate from canon) and I wanted to show that Seb will have authority over them as he is Hades' grandkid. In my mind, it basically goes like this; Hades is the Emperor of Underworld and mostly attends to Goldy matters in Olympus and whatnot, so the maintainance of Hell falls to his sons; Thanatos, God of Death, who manages the other shinigami and determines who dies; and Lucifer, who is the king of Hell and basically sorts out who goes where and torture sessions and such.

So where does this leave Sebby? Well, obviously he is one of the 7 sons of Lucifer (each personalising one vice) and a crown prince of Hell. And BOOM! Granpms Hades. And that is enough hints on Sebs true form (FYI, I just pulled this thing out of my ass with minimal research, but this is my universe, so just go with it).

Now, onto q&a.

Kai 19: The way I see it, Petunia will do anything in her power to keep Dudley out of reach for Seb and keep him away from Harry as a) considered a freak, b)afraid for son's life, so I don't think we will have that problem. On another note, With my calculations at this point Harry is 1 year and 3 months old (correct me if I'm wrong), so I think he will have very little vocabulary and can't name the skull(on plus side we can see Seb teaching him how to speak and walk- he'll leave the potty training to Petunia-). Also, your question of whose skull it is really threw me off my rocker, cuz I didn't think of it at all. But good idea – I'm open to suggestions.

WriterPON3: Thanks, it's always good to brush up on the deatails. But I did the trail thing for my convenience, as the contractor (Lily) is dead and Harry is a bit young to be ordering anybody around. Besides Harry is the charge, not the master, so he can't give orders to Seb anyways. Make sense?

Neah20: I was a bit unclear on what you said, but just to clear up Sirius, Snape and Albus did NOT see Seb in the Potter Manor, as the demon had yet to materialise from the shadows ^.^

Silvermane1: To be honest, the goblins have always been described as neutral in cannon and are going to remain this way (to humans at least). So I'm going to go with the analogy that since the Potter will wasn't read, all the assets were liquefied and he can't get any from the goblins, cuz they are a free nation and they don't need no wizards XD And yes, Seb is the magical guardian, as placed by Lily, but he dosen't want to reveal himself this early into the game and call Albus' attention to it. For now, let him think that he is the magica guardian and that the Dursley's are the muggle guardians. The goblins know better ~ Don't worry if you don't get it, I plan a whole chapter for that. As for Padfoot and Moony, I have plans for them and since I really like Remus I'm making Albus make Remus go away on a mission to convert warewolfs to light, so his absence can be excused (I didn't like the way Remus was really dodgy about his friendship with Harry's parents in canon and disappeared for much of Harry's life to god knows where). Moony, for the time being is shipped to Azkaban, but don't worry, he won't stay too long- just long enough to start doubting Dumbledore.

Done (sorry for the rants) ~~~


	7. Chapter 7

It felt like a week, but it had actually been a whole month and then some on the mortal plane since he had last resurfaced.

So he did some last minute social calls, visited the Emperor once more and, as unwritten demon protocol dictated, participated in a rowdy hunt across the fields of Hell, with trained hellhounds trailing at his heels and baying frighteningly as he raced across the planes.

When all personal business was concluded, Sebastian felt ready to depart. He donned his human disguise and melted into the shadows, welcoming the familiar velvety coldness with something akin to gladness. As ever, his magic guided him to where he was most needed.

He stepped out of the shadows not a moment later, in front of 4 Privet Drive.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Petunia did not seem too thrilled to see him.

In fact, she had opened the door with a morose sort of resignation, like what she hoped for was too good and she knew it. Sebastian recognised the look, as he himself was the cause of quit few of those in his lifetime and, just to aggravate her further, he gave her his most innocent look. She didn't seem too believing, but took care to invite him in like she would do to any guest.

 _Of course_ , the fact that he _almost_ burned her son alive might have helped.

"I hope I'm not intruding?" Sebastian said cordially. They both knew that he couldn't care less about what she had to say, but Petunia felt obliged to answer, lest the tension became too much. In her mind, the Man in tuxedo (as she was referring to him in her mind since she didn't know his name), was dangerous and volatile, but they had little choice in associating with him as it was.

"We weren't expecting you." She settled on a politically neutral answer, her beady blue eyes shrewd and damning. Disregarding her answer, Sebastian gave her an inquiring look and she immediately understood what he wanted. Or maybe she was anxious to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"He's upstairs." Petunia said curtly, before she quickly retreated to the living room where her son was and installed herself on the couch like a ruffled vulture, keeping an eye on the gurgling toddler and another on one mildly amused demon.

Smirking to him, said demon politely inclined his head and walked towards the stairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It turned out that on some deeply instinctual level, Harry could sense him, too.

Even before reaching the tiny room, the demon felt the abrupt spike in the boy's heartbeat and when he opened the door, he was immediately assaulted by one _very_ excited toddler, who was barely standing on his own and had to grip Sebastian's trousers for support. The boy was practically hanging off him like a monkey and the demon idly wondered if the child was heavy or strong enough to yank his stretching black trousers down.

"Up! Up! _Uuuuuuuuuuup!_ " The infernal child demanded, but just for the sake of teaching the child that he wouldn't have his way with him; Sebastian refused and took his time to observe Harry's room instead.

It had changed drastically after his last visit, but that was not to say that much effort was put into the renovations. The walls were lime green now, the window was curtained and a nice white fluffy rag was on the floor. But that was just about it. The room was barren except the cot he had conjured for Harry and a worn wardrobe, which, the demon was prepared to bet, contained only the clothes he had brought for Harry. To an outsider it looked like the Dursley were doing everything they could to make their nephew comfortable, but to Sebastian it looked like they were dancing on the fine line between doing a half-hearted job and doing the bare minimum.

The skull he had gifted Harry was currently zipping around the room in a languid manner, letting the demon know that there was nothing he should be overly worried of .

Harry had gone quiet. Sebastian glanced down and found that the boy had followed his line of sight and was now solemnly regarding his room, as if he knew something was not right, but couldn't pin down exactly what. Feeling eyes on him, the toddler swung his head and peered up almost shyly, and then with a warbled grunt that babies make, he reached up to take a gloved hand and tugged Sebastian into the room.

Sebastian didn't think he had crossed three steps so _agonizingly slowly_ before. But he let Harry lead him in and made a small instinctual noise of encouragement in the back of his throat when the child wobbled uncertainly and clutched at his hand too tightly.

Harry immediately straightened and forged forward with new vigour, but the tight grip on the demon's hand didn't waver.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

In the end, Sebastian did end up with Harry in his arms, if only because he thought that the child's grim determination and will was pleasing and in need of a reward.

Harry seemed quite content to sleepily bury his head in the demon's shoulder, unruly dark curls mixing with straight ebony strands.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

A.N/ Fluffy bonding time, omigod! So, as you might have understood this chapter is a filler to buy time for me to work my way over my current author's block and I just wanted to give you guys something nice to chew on meanwhile. BUT I _am_ glad that I wrote this chapter because this story is going to involve about how having someone ( _cough_ , competent, _cough)_ to relly on will change Harry and the course of the events. So, a lot of things will be build up on how Harry trusts Seb enough to let him help (harry is a bit stubborn in the canon for my tastes) and I want to build up on that trust.

Really, if I can't show the deep bond between Seb and Harry forming and maturing and _enduring_ , then I've already lost half the battle (and, no, I'm not talking about a romantical relationship).

Now, onto q&a.

GinaStar: Omigosh, yasss. His name was Bob. I love him too (the comic version though; they made him too perverted in the screen adaptations). Not what I was thinking about when I wrote it, but you gave me a _wonderful_ idea. Thank you~

KioshiUshima: Yeah, I was always curious about Sebs true form and all that. You have no idea how many fan forums I've read about that. It's actually the only reason I keep checking the new seasons (in my opinion season 1 was perfection, and the end was really fitting. Then the demon Ciel thing happened…). Glad you like my explanation, because I literally made an identity for Seb in some ten minutes on the way home from school (was bored and thinking about the unfinished fanfic in a dark corner of my desktop, then Bam!).

Animeromance1972: I really like your idea actually. But the thing is that I've already plans for Gellert and he needs to be alive to tell Seb about the Elder Wand on the demon's eventual self-imposed mission. Don't worry thou, I've got a good substitute in mind.

Dream Bound Nighmare: Yes we are! Also, if you noticed the Hades part and everything is from Greek mythology, and the Lucifer being a fallen angel is a Christian belief. For the purpose of clarity I'm not going to mix and match the two religions together, so if you can just forget about the angel part; in my story, Lucifer is a demon, the High king of the underworld and the son of Hades. And Seb is one of the seven children of Lucifer.

Neah20: Don't worry about it! No one knows a language perfectly right from the start. I'm sure that given time, you will be a good English speaker. Good Luck.

Mochilera: Oh, god. For a moment you freaked me out with the Spanish and I was already opening Google translate when I saw the translation underneath (the only word I know is hola, but it's a good language, I want to learn it…). Anyways… Actually, yes, that was I was thinking ,too. Something along the lines of a panther, since those are my favourite animals and the black fur/ green eyes kinda fits Harry in a physical way. I hoping to get his personality to match too. And, yes, Seb is going to be very pleased XD

Guest: Thanks for reading. At first, it's going to be like a baby monitor: it was created for that purpose. BUT it is going to become an interactive companion later on and I already have that bit figured out, so all's good. Of course, if you have a suggestion I would be happy to listen (ie read) ^_^

P.S I just noticed that I spent half-an-hour answering questions about the skull, but had actually forgotten to include him in the chapter, as he is not too important yet. On the other hand, he is going to become important later on, so I had to go back and add the short paragraph about him zooming around so people don't forget him. XD

Till next time \^o^/


	8. Chapter 8

Months had passed since Harry was dropped off at the Dursley household.

True to his word, Sebastian kept visiting monthly, his visits never failing to contain some sort of hidden threat that only Petunia seemed to pick up on. What grated on her nerves, was the fact that the visits from the (she was not ashamed to admit) handsome man were drawing more than enough attention to their household, specifically on the blasted child the man seemed to always be with.

At first, the visits were the root of a multitude of horrible rumors that more than often questioned her faithfulness. She had done her best to convince her lady friends (i.e _gossip buddies_ ) that the man was a social worker, who came to check on how poor Harry was doing after the traumatic death of his parents.

"Sure, 'Tunia. But even you can't deny that the man is a walking, breathing daydream." Sighed Sarah Jenkins during one tea party, elbowing Petunia slightly.

Petunia couldn't help but think that she would take any nightmare over that 'daydream', but plastered a fake smile on her face and agreed with her bud non-the-less.

XOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Harry was almost four years old now.

It was the start of July. The sun was sweltering hot and the air conditioner was working full time. The delicate flowers in the garden needed to be watered more often now and her beautiful red roses were in full bloom.

Petunia sighed happily. _There was nothing wrong with the world in that singular, peaceful moment._

But _of course_ it didn't last too long and soon the house was full of the ringing cries of a toddler.

Petunia grumbled to herself but got up to check on Dudley non-the-less. At this point, she had learned that unfortunately it was her child that was always the cause of disturbance. Dudley was whiny, snotty, lazy and destructive when given the chance. He demanded all the attention and basked in it; while he himself was nothing short a mess.

" _Mooooooooooom!"_ Came the cry again and the exasperated mother went up the stairs to change Dudley's pajamas after his afternoon nap.

"Coming Duddykins!" Petunia called back, fully knowing that if she didn't, her son would possibly throw a fit. On the way to his room, Petunia rapped on the door of the second child of the household to wake him up too. Then, she thought better of her show of politeness and yanked the door open with as much noise as she could ( _she had not oiled the hinges purposefully for a long time if only for this minute satisfaction)._

But of course, the brat to be all prim and ready and put her darling Dudley in shame.

Harry seemed to be the angel child of the house- everyone who met him agreed. He was always polite and quiet and, in contrast to Dudley's arrogant self, was happy enough to sit in a corner for hours on end with a coloring book. Dudley was lazy by nature and in no hurry to learn anything, while Harry strived to do everything at early age (no doubt his perfectionist guardian tutoring him early on) and was now able to forge through the "Little red riding hood" without much stuttering.

Yes, Harry was the perfect child, even if he seemed a tad mature for his age.

Mood soured, Petunia decided that maybe some sunshine would lift her spirits up. "Get ready, we're going out." She snapped, even though he was mostly dressed, comforting herself with the fact that the brat would still need her help to tie his shoes.

Petunia went to dress her own son and discovered, upon entering the room, that Dudley had broken his new toy plane.

XOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

In the end, Aunt Petunia took them to the nearby park.

Harry didn't like the park; it was hot, noisy and there were more people than he cared for. Watching as his cousin ran to the sandbox – possibly to bully the smaller children- Harry settled on the ground, his back to a tree. His Aunt Petunia sniffed in his direction and pointedly sat on a nearby bench, but Harry ignored her.

He knew that she didn't want him living with her: Uncle Vernon did not either for that matter. If they could, they would do something horrid, like lock him up in the cupboard under the stairs. But as it stood, they couldn't, all because of that one man who seemed to at least care for Harry's well-being. And sure, the man was not particularly affectionate and had overly high expectations of him, but Harry couldn't deny that a single praise from that man was all that he needed to feel happy and smug for the whole day.

 _He didn't know who the man was_. He was never told and all his questions were deftly sidestepped. He was told that the man couldn't give him his true name, but instead was instructed to refer to the man as Mr. Michaelis and simply Sir before that. The title seemed so distancing to Harry, but in fact the young boy thought that in the whole world, the man was the closest person to him.

Absently, Harry opened the little backpack that he brought with him and had to smile fondly at the human skull inside. True, it was not something that would make most children happy, but it was Harry's first gift from Mr. Michaelis and while it was not as energetic as before –preferring to sit on a shelf, instead of whizzing around in circles- Harry knew that in a way it still had the power to call Mr. Michaelis in the time of hardship. To Harry it was guarantee that Mr. Michaelis wouldn't abandon him and for that the little boy cherished the skull.

The boy reached inside the bag and gave the skull a pat on the head and when he pulled his hand out of the backpack, he was clutching a book. Harry fidgeted in his place to get more comfortable and pulled the ' _Treasure Island'_ to his lap, settling for a long nice read.

Most would say that the book was a bit too much for an almost four-year old, and Harry did find it a tad more difficult than his usual story books, but he had received praise for his reading skills from the kindergarten teacher (irrelevant) and Mr. Michaelis _(highly relevant_ ) and he was determined to get more.

XOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXXOXO

' _All at once there began to go a sort of bustle among the bulrushes; a wild duck flew up with a quack, another followed, and soon over the whole surface of the marsh a great cloud of birds hung screaming and circling in the air. I judged at once that some of my shipmates must be drawing near along the borders of the fen. Nor was I deceived, for soon I heard the very distant and low tones of a human voice, which, as I continued to give ear, grew steadily louder and nearer—'_

Harry jumped as a shrill cry broke his concentration. Bewildered, he looked around to find the source of interruption and soon his eyes stopped on a child hardly older than himself crying her eyes out, while Dudley sat smugly near her, a ruined sand castle at his feet. At once, a woman, who was presumably the little girl's mother, appeared from nowhere and began berating Dudley, which in turn triggered Aunt Petunia's entrance into the scene.

Blinking owlishly, Harry watched the scene before him, mentally counting down the seconds before Aunt Petunia's calm façade would crack. And true to his prediction, soon there was a heated conversation between the two women, both not raising their voices because of presence of children, but evidently not exchanging compliments either.

At some point, his eyes met the watery eyes of the crying girl's and Harry shrugged, showing that he had nothing to do with the scene. _Apparently_ , the girl took that as an invitation as she approached him with small steps, all bouncing curls and shy smiles. For a moment she stood awkwardly next to him, at loss of what to do now.

 _Then her eyes settled on the book._

"Are you reading? What are you reading?" She asked, tears forgotten, as she dropped to her knees and scooted closer. Harry just lifted the book, so she could see the cover, hoping to be left alone to continue reading, but it was not to be.

"Oh, I haven't read that one yet. But I'm reading other books: ency- enciep- encyclopedias," the girl said, stumbling over the word just a little, "so I'm smart too. Did you know that the Sun is actually huge and we see it small just because it's too far?" The girl prattled on and despite himself, Harry felt annoyed, because _he was smart too_ , but he still had to read even one encyclopedia and the girl wasn't being nice about her knowledge at all. Just to stop her from lording her book-smarts over his head, Harry decided to change the topic.

"Why were you crying?" He asked, even though he had seen the remains of a sand castle and could piece the event together. She didn't seem too happy about the interruption, but answered non-the-less.

"That great brute over there" she pointed at Dudley" trampled all over my castle!" She claimed indignantly. Still not liking the girl's tone and still stinging inside that the girl knew more than he, Harry decided on a slight barb.

"If you're so smart, why are you playing in the sandbox?"

"I wasn't _playing_ "she huffed" I was _designing a building._ I'm going to become an architect when I grow up." She announced proudly and looked expectantly at him, as if thinking that he too had his whole life planned out. Which _he didn't_ ; His only life goal so far was to move away from the Dursleys and make Mr. Michaelis proud, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

Just as he was about to respond to her, he was cut off by a stranger, who had approached them while they weren't paying attention. Harry looked up to catch the stranger giving a flick with a slim piece of wood, muttering a strange word. Beside him, the girl stiffened and fell to the ground, brown hair coming to obscure her face from view. Before he could raise his voice Harry felt a hand grab his arm, and a squeezing sensation overtook him as he too, lost conscious.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

A/N Dun dun Duuuuuuuun. So, yeah, Harry got kidnapped by a wizard. I'm evil.

Actually, I'm not; this one was just a big(-er than usual) chapter, so I just halved it. But never fear, the second part will be up soon enough. And yeah, Seb is going to save him AND they will meet someone with more info of what actually is going on and some important stuff will be said. So…yeah. The most important part of this chapter was the last paragraph, the rest was just because I needed to explain what sort of situation it was and I just needed Harry somewhere where he can be kidnapped.

Regarding to the time skip; I have written a summary of what is going to happen in this fic and between the ages 1.5-4 nothing exciting happens, just bonding between Seb and Harry which I gave a taste of in the last chapter. So if I had written anything about those years it would just be fluff bonding/disciplining and while I don't have anything against fluff I really think I should limit it as Seb is still a demon and he's hardly affectionate. What matters is that Harry trust and relies on him, and only him.

So, onto answering some questions.

Guest: Actually a bit of both- at first it's going to be a monitor/interactive toy, then he's actually going to be companion. Don't worry, it's confusing I know but I have it worked out.

Paxloria: Wow, you sure are good at spotting things XD No, the toys and clothes are going to be used only by Harry as Seb kinda made it clear that he will not take any bullying, so even Dudley is not going to pick too much on Harry (I really think that Dudley bullied Harry because he was encouraged to do so/ saw his parents doing it). Well, none of that in this fic. I just didn't include them, because I think it was an unimportant detail, but good job spotting it.

KioshiUshima: Hey, someone who finally understands me XD All my friend who watched the anime are like 'no, the rest is an important part of the whole show tooo. You just don't understand'. Omg, so glad you exist. And yeah, thanks for the heads up about the panther/leopard thing, I'll pay attention to it in the future.

Dream Bound Nightmare: Umm…yeah, it is a bit complicated, but bear with me , it will be explained more in the future. And as for the PM thing: it's a good idea and I'm already PM'ing with WRose, feel free to PM me if you have questions (goes for all of you folks). The only problem I see is that some questions are reoccurring and instead of answering each PM, I think it's better for me to just write it in the chapter so the others can read it,too (although after I complete the story I'm going to go over it, update it and I'm going to delete the A/N sections too). What I'm trying to say is if you PM me I will PM you back, but if the question is in a review I will answer it like this. Deal? ;)


	9. Chapter 9

He came to very very slowly.

The sense of being somewhere _unknown_ was the first thing to assault his mind. All of his muscles tensed and his breathing hitched. His mind raced to remember the events leading to his awakening, but instead an old memory of Mr. Michaelis giving him advice on what to do in situations like this, surfaced.

"Don't draw attention to yourself, take stock of surroundings, formulate plans. _Survive._ " He repeated in his mind like a mantra, along with his guardian's velvety voice.

Harry forced himself to relax and his heart beat to slow. He lay there, on what he assumed was a bare concrete ground, straining his ears to hear at least something that could be of use and picked up on the soft breathing of another _. The Girl._

 _Then, it came back to him._

XOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Pete Sweeney was not proud of himself.

From early childhood he was the underdog. Born to a family of five, he was never anything special. He was neither smart, nor handsome and hated exercising with unparalleled passion. His mother and father never had anything to boast about when it came to him. He was very much single and jobless and relied on his family members for support. If they find out what he had done, they would disown him immediately.

For he, in a bid to prove himself, had become a Dark wizard.

And _now_ , he had the _brilliant_ idea to kidnap The Harry Potter. At first it was just a joke that he kept saying to himself, then it materialized into a solid idea and he had hard time resisting it. He made the mistake of mentioning it to some fellow outlaws of his, and they gladly urged him on. Heartened by this, Pete had tried to find him, but it was as if the blasted brat had disappeared off the face of the planet. Then on a casual stroll, Pete had seen his opportunity and took it; stunning the brat and his little friend and apparating them both into the hideout he and two other friends shared (both shunned for their statuses as vicious werewolves).

It was a miracle really that he stumbled upon the boy in that muggle park _\- a miracle he was seriously beginning to doubt._

One thing that nobody knew was that his grandmother was a Seer and, while he himself never bothered to see if he had the gift, he had inherited this inborn instinct that had kept his not-so-spectacular-self alive on the battlefield, while men stronger than him fell down.

 _And now, he had a Feeling that something_ bad _was going to happen._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

 _Tap-tap-tap._

The sound of approaching steps had him closing his eyes.

Between the footsteps there was a sound of something dragging on the ground and the harsh sound of slightly strained breathing. A heavy body kneeled down next to his limp one. With a loud sound the joints of the person popped, as if they had not been used for a long time. There was a short bark of laughter and sour breath washed over his face in a nauseating wave.

"You know, for a six year old kid you sure sleep a lot." An old voice wheezed. " _Too bad I can hear your little heart doing flips in your chest."_

Harry had to fight off tears of pain as he was harshly yanked up by his collar.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Hermione had it all figured out.

 _Too bad she didn't foresee getting kidnapped_.

 _So she was scared when she woke up in a cold building._

To be successful one had to always be polite, study hard and plan ahead. And she _really_ wanted to be successful.

 _But first she had to get out and get away from the horrid place she found herself in._

 _She was hopeful when she heard footsteps._

She made sure to complement her aunt's dress and offer to help in cleaning. She religiously cleaned and flossed her teeth and ate everything in her plate (even though she secretly hated mushrooms and the pumpkin soup her mom often made). She abided to self-set strict rules of curfew and bed time.

 _She was confused when the approaching stranger took out a slim piece of wood from his back pocket and pointed it on her._

And most of all, she studied hard and she liked to read – a lot. She knew all about the planets in the Milky Way, she knew why birds can fly and she could recite the entire alphabet backwards. And she was only seven. She looked forward to when she would be older and learning even more difficult and interesting bit of knowledge, which could explain every occurrence in the world. It was all science. Magic did not exist.

 _She watched with terrified awe as a light erupted from the tip of the stick and sped towards her._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry knew magic existed.

What could the extraordinary fire tricks Mr. Michaelis did or his beloved skull be, if not magic? The man had never bothered to mask what he could do when he was alone with Harry, and had frequently told Harry that one day he too would be able to use magic. That made Harry extremely happy – to him it was not just a chance to learn something awesome and exciting, to him it was another way to be connected with his caregiver. It was something that was part of who Mr. Michaelis was- _and with that a part of who Harry was as well._

Harry had learned early on that magic could be both good and bad. The flames that gently lick Mr. Michaelis' fingers when Harry asks for a small show of magic don't feel the same like the skull-shaped scorch mark on Dudley's door does (even though instinctually he knew that it came from Mr. Michaelis too).

As a child, Harry had been very sensitive to magic. Through magic he could sense feelings and thoughts not his own, something that he was told was the result of his early exposure to _different_ sources of magic (he wasn't told how different, but if he had to guess he would say _Mr. Michaelis_ _sort of different_ ). He could tell when people were not ordinary- and comparing the magical auras of the strange people on the streets, who sometimes tipped their funny hats to him, he could tell that his guardian was something _entirely_ otherworldly. His Sense told him so.

His Sense also told him that whoever the aged person was, he was a magical (explains how he got there) and feels like the crazed wolf he saw in a zoo once.

However, Harry did not need his Sense to tell him that the scarred old man was _not up to any good._

The way the man manhandled him was indication enough. Harry was shoved against the wall, unable to move his hands or feet because of invisible-but very much real- bounds.

"Stay put." The man leered. "I'll be back with the others, so we decide what to do with you." The way he said it had Harry distinctly uncomfortable, so the followed the man with untrusting eyes, until he departed from the room. Harry now had a few minutes, depending on where _the others_ were.

He looked around to see if there was something he could use and took in where he was. Instead of the dark place he woke up in, he was dragged harshly into another room; one that had a table and a few chairs and something that looked like it had been a sofa once upon a time. His eyes landed on the familiar blue of his back pack on the rickety table, along with various other items and garbage (mostly garbage, he thought, wrinkling his nose) although to him it looked a bit too slumped, as if something big was missing from the bag.

 _Harry relaxed-_ _help was on its way._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

A/N: So, yeah not the huge action chapter you were waiting for (it got too long. Again), but here, have something to chew on while I write up the rest. Also, no Sebby in this chapter. But I promise you will see him in the next chapter, along with somebody special Stay on your toes!

WriterPON3: No. This is after the first season and the rest haven't happened. I.e Ciel is dead, eaten by Sebby and NOT a demon. Actually, not many characters from BB will be in here. It's mostly a crossover because of Sebby. There will be only select three-ish characters making entrance in this fanfic, but that's because I love them too much and can't resist.

Silverane1: No. Again, Seb is not adopting Harry, he is merely taking care of him until Harry fulfills his purpose and kills Voldy. Seb is not going to let Harry call him that and even though Harry will think of him as a father figure, he will be old enough not to go around saying whatever he thinks.

F.P NO W: Hahah. Yeah, its her. Also out of the 3 kidnappers, only one is important and the rest are just made up, so don't sweat it.


	10. Chapter 10

_How dare they?_

How _absolutely_ dare they kidnap his charge right under his nose?

No, this would not do. At this rate they were going to hurt Harry or compromise him in some obscure way. Why couldn't these petty wizards smarten up and just realize that the moment they so much as _think_ harm upon the boy, they were signing their own death warrant?

Time to rectify matters- he had _played nice_ for far too long.

For a single instant, a pair of eyes flickered violet from the shadows.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The other man unnerved him.

Pete had never learned to trust his two werewolf companions. For one, he had seen what destructive rage they could get into, even when the full moon was days away. He was oh so scared of those monsters.

And anyway, it was not like any of them had made any special effort to get to know another. It was only Romulus who had even bothered to be semi-civil - the younger werewolf was always polite and soft-spoken. In contrast, the other person, who didn't even bother to introduce himself, but whom Pete secretly called Grizzly in his mind- for the elder man looked more like a bear than the wolf he was-, was dirty, uncouth and had a short fuse on him.

Thus, Pete was naturally on his guard when Grizzly deemed it useful to talk to one of them.

Even if all he said was a rough "Get the mutt and come" before he lumbered away. His voice was scratchy and gruff, as if he was more used to growling than forming human words. Pete supposed that was the case.

The portly man diligently got up and went to find Romulus.

XOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Harry was _so close_ \- he knew he was. He just had to swim a bit further in the darkness _. Yes_ , he was finally there.

All he had to do was just to – _aha!_

A feeling of triumph settled over Harry as he looked at the swirling mass of intangible lime green, accented at places with flashes of apple-red.

Harry took hold of his magic and _tugged_.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Romulus was nowhere to be found, and frankly Pete _didn't care._

All he knew was if he failed to return Grizzly would probably rip him a new one. He shivered just thinking about those sharp claws on his neck, just a mere flick of wrist away from snapping his neck. Then, he would lie on the floor suffering incredibly for just one second and then it would go all dark. He would be struggling to remain alive, chocking on his own spit—

The more he thought about it the more real it seemed.

Trying to settle himself, he took a deep breath. It hitched in his throat and refused to go down, and it was then that Pete noticed that the imaginary hand around his neck was, in fact, _very real._

There was a low hiss right behind his left ear and the hand _squeezed._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The binding magic washed over him like a bucket-full of lukewarm water and then Harry was free of his bonds. Harry had successfully overpowered the magical binds.

He jumped up to his feet, his body alive with adrenalin and eyes already roaming to find something of use. There were no windows, so he would have to use the hallway to get out – thankfully Harry was neither stupid nor brash and would just wait until Mr. Michealis came to rescue him- for if there was one thing that Harry knew was that Mr. Michaelis would not abandon him. He much preferred that over risking being detected sneaking out.

He just wanted to be prepared in case the man was a bit late and Harry had to fend off enemies on his own.

There was a rusty kitchen knife on the table – _it would do._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Suddenly there was a gnarled arm gripping his collar and yanking him back.

He struggled against the grip, but it was just too strong. He strained against the hold, the neckline of his shirt painfully digging into his flesh. In a last ditch effort, he put all of his weight on his heel and slammed it on the other's foot.

There was a curse and he took the opportunity to vengefully jam his elbow into the body behind him. A great whizzing sound, the breath living the unknown assailant in a whoosh. The lithe body lurched forward and small digits closed against the cool metal.

Harry turned and rammed the rusty blade into the side of his attacker. The old feral man went down with a pained grunt, and Harry watched as he fell, his eyes connecting with another pair, even more powerful, leaning on the doorway.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Sebastian was there.

He had followed the Trail to find Harry and arrived in a derelict shanty hut. It was a matter of seconds for his to find his charge- after squeezing the breath out of the overweight man.

He had felt two presences leaving the premises, but none of them was Harry so he wasn't overly concerned. He was just about to descend with his entire wrath upon the old werewolf who thought it alright to manhandle the child, but then had noticed the gleam in Harry's eye.

And he recognized it- it was a look of determination to survive _. At all costs._

Sebastian chose to honor the dark look in Harry's eyes and watched as the rusty knife plunged into the flesh of the enemy. It did not hit any vital organ, but perhaps it was enough for the man to bleed to death. At that moment he felt a wave of pride wash over him.

 _Harry's first kill._

Now, to calm the child down.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

 _He saw. He saw. He saw-_

Why? Why did it have to turn out this way? He didn't mean it! It was self-defense-

 _He saw. He saw-_

And Mr. Michaelis saw it all. He must think Harry is an unbalanced child now. He must think him unworthy and disgusting and any minute now he will say that Harry is unworthy of his efforts and will leave Harry forever.

 _He saw_ -

No, he was coming closer- why? To strike him, to punish him- there was not enough air and his eyes stung and oh god- maybe it was not too late—maybe, Harry could throw himself on his knees and beg forgiveness and all would be right again and-

 _He—_

He was close now, and his gloved hands were reaching for him- was he going to burn Harry to ashes instead?- And then those cold hands were gently cupping his face, forcing him to look into the red eyes.

"You did well." Was the only thing said, and yet to Harry it was all that mattered. Mr. Michaelis was not going away.

With a shudder of relief, Harry went limp and collapsed in his guardian's arms.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

A/N Dun dun duuun. So, here it is the long awaited chapter. I hope I don't disappoint.

If it's a bit hectic and uncontrolled- don't worry it was meant to be that way- I just don't think that in a middle of life-or-death situations people are completely comprehending what happens around them, they just go on autopilot to survive. So yeah, this jumbled stuff is supposed to be due to the adrenalin high and the confusion during battles and such. If it's too unclear, tell me and I will post an explanation in the review page. Meh, I think I did alright, but I'm still anxious about it *waits for reviews*

Answers to reviews:

Kyuubichild717: in books and movies it's really cool that one person knows almost everything. But let's be honest, if somebody approached me in real life with Hermione's attitude (especially the one she had at the start of the franchise) I would smack the stuffing out of that person. So, yeah- my Hermione is not supposed to be liked just like that, she has to work at it.

Paxloria: Maybe *shrugs* but, I needed a physical proof for Harry that Seb is coming that wouldn't alert his captors, so he could come down and concentrate enough to find his core. Works for me..

Katzztar: Hey, thanks for the review- made me feel real good. And yeah, it was a typo- sorry! Padfoot is in Azkaban and Moony is out on a mission- you will be seeing him soon though. And yeah, Harry's stuff is still with him, it's just that they were not important enough to mention.

F.P NOW: Or maybe it could go down another, third way ;) And you want Sebastian?- Here he is—take him!

The Yoshinator: Wow, you sure have a homing system for further plot points. Most of your questions will be answered in the next or so chapter so stay sharp! Sorry I can't answer right away but! Spoilers.


	11. Chapter 11

It was a very battered young man that had fled the temporary lodgings, which he shared with the older werewolf and the other man for over four months. He had a less than stellar time with them, his tattered clothes and unkempt beard proof to that, and was decidedly _not_ going to miss those times.

Sadly, it didn't look like he had brighter times ahead of him – after all, he had let Harry Potter get away with an unknown person. And now, he was about to return to the very person that gave him his dangerous mission. The mission that he had failed.

At least he did not return completely empty-handed, the werewolf thought, glancing down at the limp figure of a nine year old girl in his arms.

The one known as Romulus raised his hand and knocked on the old mahogany door in front of him, consoling himself with the pleasurable prospect of finally having a bath, as the door opened and a stern woman ushered him in.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXXOXOXOXOXO

The door swung open to reveal Petunia, thoroughly dishelved and ash-faced. Seeing who exactly was standing outside the door had her paling further and stammering incoherently. Sebastian turned his nose up at her and shouldered his way into the Dursley's house.

With unhurried strides he made Harry's room, Petunia dogging his heels like a scolded child, anxiously toying with a handkerchief in her hand. He passed the overweight child's room, and although the door was tightly shut, he knew by scent that the five year old was not in the room. In fact, he wasn't even in the house. A slight smirk crossed the demon's features; the woman was afraid. And rightly so.

 _Good_ , he purred inwardly.

Tucking Harry into his cot, Sebastian allowed his mind to wander. A bed was in order, he thought idly, eyeing the cot that gave the four year old any wriggle room _. Well, he did certainly deserve one_ , decided he as the memory of fresh blood spilling onto the cement presented itself in his head.

He has been there when the child stabbed the ruffled werewolf with a rusty knife. That alone wasn't enough to kill the old man – no organs were punctured after all- but who was there to save the old man from bleeding to death? Sebastian had also been there for the child when he came to consciousness. It took Sebastian about an hour to calm the child down- reassuring him that by no means was he angry at what had transpired- proud, actually. And he really was- Harry had turned up to be suitably driven and intelligent for a four year old, and while he did seem a bit too emotionally reliant on Sebastian, the demon was inclined to allow it, as it made his interactions with the boy easier- as long as he was the only one the boy trusted and looked up to to such degree.

Shaking his head at the direction his thoughts had wondered to, Sebastian turned his attention to the woman silently standing in the doorway. There was a slight droop to her shoulders, as if she believed danger to have passed, but the dread in her scent told him that she knew it was far from it.

Deciding to play with the woman's psyche some more, he simply brushed by her and went down the stairs. The pitter-patter of the steps following him did not disappoint. Smirking to himself, he strode into the kitchen and purposefully opened the drawer that contained Petunia's silverware, his sensitive hearing picking up on the tiny hitch in her breath when his fingers brushed over the handles of some formidable looking knives.

"Relax," he chuckled" I wouldn't _really_ need a knife now, would I?" The foolish woman still thought him to be a wizard. _Certainly a dark one_ , if she has more than two brain cells. She would think he was hinting at him possessing a wand- which he didn't. Little did she know that he did not need _any_ weapon to tear her limp from limp if he so chose. However, that was not his plan.

Sebastian selected a fine teaspoon and set the kettle to boil. Leading a trembling Petunia to a seat, he gave her a cup of tea and began in a falsely conversational voice.

"Here you go, drink this. Pale is not doing wonders for your face. Oh, you'll never guess what Harry did today!" He flashed a predatory smile in her direction. "Let swap stories about how our day went- I am most interested in hearing your side of the story."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The young man looked more like himself now that he had showered and changed clothes. He would have loved to shave, but time was of essence. Already there were people gathered in the living room, whispering to each-other with their head close together. His werewolf hearing picked up snippets of what was being said, but he did not have much interest in them. Soon he was spotted and every head turned to catch what would be the first sight of him in four years.

Fresh whispers were halted by the entrance of the founder of their organization. The old man came in, bearing an air of importance and of urgency not at all tarnished by his colorful clothing. The werewolf was given a grave nod from the old wizard.

"Good to see you my boy. I hear that you have news?" No further prompting was needed for everyone present arranging themselves in a circle around him. Feeling slightly self-cautions of all the interested gazes on him, the werewolf cleaned his throat and began his tale;

"As some of you may know, I was given a mission four years ago. It was a very difficult one, but an important one as well, so I accepted it willingly, fully knowing what I'm getting into. This has kept me busy during the previous four years, and the heightened senses of my _'companions'_ meant I could not sneak off to visit, but I have kept in touch with some of us to report my progress." He briefly met the eyes of the stern witch who led him in and the old wizard a subtle nod from the latter giving him permission to divulge more information to the interested crowd gathered around him.

"As you know in last war, our enemy had the help of a select werewolf pack on his side- I believe we all know which one I'm talking about. This was a source of many causalities from our side and we thought it time to rectify out past mistakes- the pack had disbanded now and was spread all over Britain, hiding, and there were also many newly-turned werewolves roaming Britain. We needed somebody to offer them guidance and help, hopefully converting a handful to our side. As someone who had to live with Lycanthropy from childhood, I was the most suited for this job." Taking a sip from the jug of water that was placed in front of him; the werewolf cleared his throat again and resumed his tale.

"Over the span of four years, I have managed to track 39 werewolves that were either travelling alone or in small groups. Roughly half of them were newly-turned werewolves and accepted help readily. The other half were mostly set in their old ways and reacted violently when I revealed my beliefs to them, forcing me to take drastic measures." None in the room doubted what ' _drastic measures'_ meant, especially when it came to creatures such as werewolves.

"That brings me to our current situation. I had located an old werewolf, of unknown name, and had started to work on him and, as a side-project, a man named Pete Sweeny- who was a former Death Eater and had joined our group. Under the guise of a young disoriented werewolf Romulus, I tried to influence them into converting to our side. After some months I decided that they were not going to change their ways and was about to desert them, when I heard them scheming to kidnap Harry Potter – so I stayed. _Eventually they did capture him_." Gasps were heard from every corner of the room, hopeful eyes looking at him to elaborate.

"They whisked Harry away from a muggle park, and they had also brought a young girl who happened to be with Harry at the time of kidnapping. The children were separated and I was faced with the choice of whom to go after. I ,of course, wanted to head after Harry, but I rationalized that my housemates would not kill Harry, based on previous talks of using him to get ransom money. The girl had no such protection, so I was forced to go after her. As it would be, she turned out to be a muggleborn and resisted my attempt of stunning her by erecting a shield- her first instance of accidental magic I believe. I then easily overpowered and stunned her. Meanwhile, I sensed another person enter the house." He staled his story, by taking a rather large gulp of water. The impatient stares he was receiving made him continue talking.

"I have never felt anything like that before- the wolf inside of me kept insisting that it was a predator. I believe said predator killed Pete Sweeny and the werewolf I was pursuing. As the smell of the werewolve's blood hit my nose, the wolf overwhelmed me, forcing me to flee- all I could do was to take the young witch with me. That is all I know." The werewolf hang his head as outraged shrieks broke out all around him, chasing away the silence of a minute ago. It was only a deep bellow of _"Silence!"_ that stopped the cacophony of screams and possibly bodily attacks on his person.

"Everybody please calm down- Potter is well and safe. The monitoring charms I have put on him show that he is currently asleep within his room in his aunt's house." Said the elderly wizard, his blue eyes serious as they ever were.

"Dumbledore, you cannot possibly defend the mutt after he ran back to us with his tail in-between his legs." Scoffed a surly man from the very corner of the room, as if just by being next to the werewolf would ruin his year.

"Severus, he has done his best. Let Remus rest." McGonagall shot a stern look towards the surly man, who curled his lip at her then aimed a frosty glare to the growling werewolf.

"Now, now boys, all is well. There is no need to fight and there certainly is no need for us to take the rest of the day with a matter that has turned out in our favor." The occupants of the room took the dismissal for what it was, and slowly started ambling out from Number 12, Grimauld Place, until eventually it was only the members of the Inner Order that remained.

It did not take long for the eccentric group to agree that that was a really close call and they needed to take more caution in the future. They also had to find out the identity of Harry's apparent savior, and determine his-or her- motifs. A quick vote was decided upon to determine future course of action.

"All in favor of warding the Dursley household and installing a spy nearby, raise your hands." All hands, as if one, went up. McGonagall was sent to fetch Arabella Figg and brief her on the situation. Now all that remained was the question of what to do with the muggleborn witch, and Albus could finally go home and indulge himself with a slice or two of cherry pie- he could hardly wait.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

Meanwhile, a satisfied demon exited Privet Drive, smirking to himself at the punishment he had instilled on the Dursley's for their lack of attention to Harry- the fools had not even called police, even though the child had been missing for most of the day. The scared expression on woman's face as she was told of what he had done bringing joy to his black heart.

His punishment was actually inspired by her love for plants- Sebastian merely had given her another one to take care of. He had led her upstairs, in front of her son's bedroom door and, deliberately in full view of her, had enchanted the scorch mark on the door (from when he first had a 'chat' with the delightful family' to look like a seed. Then he'd told her that the seed nurtured on negative emotions and as long as Harry suffered harm due to said intentions, directly or indirectly, the seed would grow. And when each scorch-mark rose opened, a member of the family would be killed.

 _He was not ashamed to say that every word was as truthful as can be._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXO

A/N I'm alive! And yes, Romulus was Remus in disguise- this was the mission I sent him on- bet none of ya saw that coming. This is also my longest chapter yet, to make up for slow updates and many requests to do 'longer chapters'. I'm sorry people, but I think I will stick to about 2000 words updates- it's what my schedule allows me to do. On to replies:

In5pirit: There will be a time skip, but not so soon, besides the plot is picking up for now- so enjoy the bumpy ride I present you with.

Riddle-Snape: Hmm, maybe. But remember Harry is still 4 year old, and no matter what other fanfics say, you can't became all-powerfull/independent/dark in just a day, especially at that age. Besides Harry trusting and looking up to Seb is an important component of the story

WRose & Paxloria: does this answer?

KioshiUshima: Nope not Greyback, but don't worry he'll get what's coming his way too…

The Yoshinator: Thank you very much! : )

LovelyCrazy: I did not know we could do that…! : 0


	12. ANNOUNCMENT

So, no, not an update, but IMPORTANT none the less.

I HAVE STARTED REVISING THE ENTIRE STORY, in order to make it better i.e: longer and more cohesive chapter. I just finished my A-level exams, so I will have more time to update faster and maybe with a semblance of a schedule (but don't hold your breath on the last one).

THE PLOT WILL STAY ROUGHLY THE SAME, BUT ENOUGH CHANGES WILL BE MADE THAT YOU MAY BE LOST, SO REREADING THE REVIEWED PARTS IS RECOMMENDED.

Also, I'LL ADD SOME NEW CHAPS AROUND THE MIDDLE, to make the timeskip less drastic and to build up Seb-Harry trust. The NOTIFICATIONS OF PROGRESS AND ANY NEW CHAPTERS will be posted in this A/N, so keep an eye on this.

I will revise and add until I reach the last chapter that I wrote, when I will delete this AN and move on.

As of 16/6/16, I HAVE REVISED THE FIRST CHAPTER so you can go read that in lieu of the new chap that you expected. No new chapters added. Next is rework of chapter 2.

Estimated time of update of chapter 2 is 24/6/16.

Lots of love,

Funkymunchkin


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